§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the website links associated with her Department, including sites now dormant or closed, and indicating whether they are live, dormant or closed; what the start up costs were for each site listed; what the operating costs were in each year since start up for each site; which company hosted each site; what assessment takes place for each site; which company does the assessment; if she will place the assessment reports in the Library; and if she will make a statement. [75581]
§ Clare ShortThe Department for International Development currently supports three principal websites: the departmental site (www.dfid.gov.uk), a site providing access to development education resources (www.globaldimension.org.uk) and a site relating to DFID's quarterly magazine, "Developments" (www.developments.org.uk). For the launch of the 2000 White Paper on International Development, DFID supported the creation of an additional site (www.globalisation.gov.uk). All sites are active, although the 2000 White Paper site is treated as dormant for the purposes of uploading new information.
The main DFID website and the 2000 White Paper are hosted by U-UNET; hosting of the Global Dimension website is contracted to a commercial company, Planet 56; the "Developments" website is hosted by Synergy, under a design contract encompassing both the design of the magazine and its associated website, and its costs are embedded in the budget for that magazine. The department is currently investigating a time-scale for bringing the hosting of directly-supported websites in-house.
It would not be possible to list all start-up and annual running costs since inception without disproportionate effort. However, approximate budgets for each of the websites for the last three financial years are as follows:
FY 2000–01 FY 2001–02 FY 2002–03 DFID website £20,000 £75,000 £100,000 Global Dimension website N/A £35,000 £40,000 2000 White Paper website £60,000 £15,000 £15,000 The main DFID website was overhauled in November 2001: terms of reference for a post-implementation review, including the instigation of a formal user-evaluation process are currently being 321W drawn up, with a view to completing a review of the website by early 2003. User-evaluation for "Developments" is undertaken in the form of an annual reader survey via the magazine, reinforced through a web-based survey. User-evaluation for the Global Developments website is planned as part of a mid-term review during 2003.
Statistical information in relation to website users for all DFID-supported websites is supplied on a monthly basis to the Office of the e-Envoy, and published by them.